Re: Cool Stuff & NPCs

From: Paul <kax_at_...>
Date: Sun, 05 Sep 2004 07:23:53 -0000

• In HeroQuest-RPG_at_yahoogroups.com, "alexei mcdonald" <alexei_mcdonald_at_h...> wrote:
  > > > Check out the hardness of hammered bronze Jane. Remember that
  the
  > >best cannons were bronze, not iron for the longest time.
  > >
  > >
  > > That was for resilience and manufacturing purposes, not strength
  -
  > >effective manufacturing of iron cannon took quite some time. Iron
  > >cannon are lighter for the same throw weight and purpose.
  > >
  > Iron cannon are heavier, I'm afraid, which is why bronze was
  preferred for
  > field guns. Naval cannon were of iron since they could be kept in
  action
  > longer without melting down, and the weight issue was less crucial.
  Iron
  > was also much cheaper.
  

Sorry, misremembered the weight thing. :(

But solid iron barrels was later, because harder to do. Early iron cannon attempts were iron bars making a cylinder, held together by iron bands - chancy and damned heavy, but still worth trying because it was still better than bronze.

And cast bronze drilled out and cast iron drilled out aren't armour...  ;)

Bronze is softer than iron. Yes, hammered bronze can be hard and tough - but treated iron is tougher and harder, for both weapons and armour, and so supplanted it. Every time a people with bronze armour and weapons met a people with iron armour and weapons, the iron won in the end - and usually at the beginning.

The only metal better than iron for armour RW is good modern steel; mild steel doesn't make enough of a difference. I'll leave titanium out because of its cost, even though it recently got a heap cheaper.

Paul